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Orchids: An Illustrative History
"A magnificent showcase of horticultural illustrations from the archives of the Royal Horticultural Society. Orchids are the most prolific of flowering plants, able to mutate into a dazzling and infinite variety of colors and designs. The flower that Charles Darwin considered the ultimate in evolutionary adaptability has a broad appeal and is a continuing obsession.
As early as 1839, 1,600 kinds of orchid were available from plant nurseries in England. Today, that number has soared to 60,000 known orchid species and 100,000 hybrids
Orchids is a sumptuous volume that showcases these beautiful plants with classic artworks and drawings from the unparalleled archive of the Royal Horticultural Society. The book includes the history of the orchid, tracing its discovery in the dense rain forests during the Age of Exploration to the flower's meteoric rise in popularity during the nineteenth century. The directory of prize specimens is organized alphabetically by genus: from Ada to Zygopetalum.
The species within the genus are illustrated in brilliant color and captioned with fascinating text that includes origin, history, common name and horticultural observations.
Orchids will appeal to both gardening buffs and art lovers alike.
The Royal Horticultural Society holds the world's finest horticultural archives of paintings, illustrations and rare books in the Society's Lindley Library.
As early as 1839, 1,600 kinds of orchid were available from plant nurseries in England. Today, that number has soared to 60,000 known orchid species and 100,000 hybrids
Orchids is a sumptuous volume that showcases these beautiful plants with classic artworks and drawings from the unparalleled archive of the Royal Horticultural Society. The book includes the history of the orchid, tracing its discovery in the dense rain forests during the Age of Exploration to the flower's meteoric rise in popularity during the nineteenth century. The directory of prize specimens is organized alphabetically by genus: from Ada to Zygopetalum.
The species within the genus are illustrated in brilliant color and captioned with fascinating text that includes origin, history, common name and horticultural observations.
Orchids will appeal to both gardening buffs and art lovers alike.
The Royal Horticultural Society holds the world's finest horticultural archives of paintings, illustrations and rare books in the Society's Lindley Library.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2002
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About the author
Mark Griffiths
88 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 27, 2024
3.5 Stars
I picked up this book at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, a million years ago. Not sure why I never picked it up till now. It was a lovely book. The only problem, for me, was the writing was too small for these oft used eyes. But the pictures were no problem. Gorgeous! Great “coffee table book”.
I picked up this book at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, a million years ago. Not sure why I never picked it up till now. It was a lovely book. The only problem, for me, was the writing was too small for these oft used eyes. But the pictures were no problem. Gorgeous! Great “coffee table book”.
February 22, 2019
Beautiful pictures, plenty of historical and scientific information. I was expecting more information on how to take care of various strains of plants, but I guess that was a silly assumption
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews